By: Eboni Jones

What would you do to stop hate? Fortunately, you don’t have to stand alone in the fight. Not in Our Town, an organization branch started by the University a few years ago to combat incidences of hate speech and intolerance, is a willing partner.

The mission of Not In Our Town Bowling Green is to guide, support and inspire people to work together to stop hate and build safe, inclusive environments for everyone.

Just recently, NIOT sponsored a panel discussion entitled, “Islamophobia,” bring together people to discuss the growing intolerance toward Muslimes and people who are perceived as Muslims

NIOT is led by concerned community residents such as co-chair Leslie Galan Sautters, budget director of the College of Musical Arts, who wants to foster and create a safe and inclusive community.

“Students are why we’re here”, she said in a recent interview.

It is important, she says, to ask the question, “Do we want to talk about things that are happening or do we want to do something about things that are happening?”

Sautter is a woman of Hispanic heritage that grew up in the San Francisco area and eventually moved to the Midwest and Bowling Green area.

She helps on the “business side of things” for her role as budget director for the college of Musical Arts and also for NIOT.

Leslie became a part of NIOT in 2013, when the chapter began. She went into the organization with experiences of her own with hate and intolerance.

There are disadvantages in the business world for a woman of color. “[With] businesses in the finance industry specifically you have to subject yourself to credit reporting to get a job,”  she said.

Citizens that are from socioeconomically impacted areas may be subjected to bad credit given that they have a lack of resources in the proximity of their communities.

Leslie joined the efforts of NIOT to not just complain about hate and racial intolerance but to actually do something about it.

In the past two-and-a-half years, Leslie along with others, has helped the Bowling Green community grow in the name of racial-inclusion and sensitivity.

Students and citizens of the city, “have to learn to get along,” said Sautter. If we are going to see improvements. People who want to have change must “put [themselves] out there.”

Becoming a part of an organization such as NIOT is one way to take a step towards change.

Racial-hate and intolerance is everywhere in our world and a lot of people can be intimidated to step out and confront it or take actions to combat prejudices that may be woven into our culture.

“A lot of people don’t generally go out of their comfort zones,” said Sautters.

NIOT asks people to come of their comfort zones and support the efforts of NIOT. The group conduced a second community session on Islamophobia Feb. 9 at the Wood County Public Library. If you would like to join the efforts of NIOT and make a difference in our community, the next general meeting is Thursday, Feb. 11, 3-5 p.m. in Room 315 of the Bowen Thompson Student Union.